Transfers

Bonjour !

Yesterday was transfer day, which is why I'm writing this today. Elder Maxwell left to Poitiers, and I received Elder Wilkinson (another British elder - cheerio!). 

This week was full of goodbye meals from members and tons of miracles! We've been seeing so many blessings lately - our teaching pool has grown so much, and it's been awesome! One thing I've really learned is that it's our job to work hard, and God provides blessings - but we don't choose what form those blessings will come in! Case and point, we've been working hard all week and hadn't really been seeing a lot of success from our actions. Then on Sunday one of the young women came to church with a friend who was interested in the church. We taught her and she loved it! She's progressing and has been loving every lesson. We saw miracles, even though they weren't directly related to all the work we'd put in this week. 

Anywho, sorry I don't have a lot of time today! But I'm loving the work and I'm so grateful for all the miracles we've seen this week and the everyday miracles that surround us! And I'm so excited for this transfer - my last in Switzerland before I have to head back to France - let's make it good!

Bonne semaine ! 

Elder Suisse 

Pics: 

The UN as we drove past

We visited CERN before we left Geneva and it was so cool! They wouldn't let the public see the particle accelerator itself, but it was still awesome

Elder Wilkinson and I in standstill traffic (what better time to take a picture?)

Miracles and Springtime!

Bonjour!

Okay, this week was the greatest! Like, so many cool things! First off, it's warm again! We got tons of snow last Tuesday and it was bitter cold, but then we walked out of the apartment yesterday and it was all gone and the sun was shining and it was beautiful! I don't want to jinx us, but we're hoping that means winter's ending?

Okay, so Tuesday was zone conference and wow, so good! It was all about the Book of Mormon and how we can better apply it to our lives and the lives of our investigators and members, and it was just such a blast! They had all of the zone leaders and sister training leaders take popular Book of Mormon stories and do something fun with them, and it turned out great! One elder played Samuel the Lamanite and stood on the stage and preached repentance to us while we threw balls at him, and I got asked to play Nephi and berate Laman and Lemuel (my ZLs) while 6.5 foot, Tahitian Elder Tehahe played God and narrated in his booming voice. It was such a great conference, and I learned a lot about helping our amis really understand what they read. 

Friday we had a "Ping pong and pancakes" activity at the chapel. Our pancakes were actually crepes, and almost everybody ditched at the last second, but it ended up being super fun! One of our awesome amis showed up and we had a great time, and my crepes were pretty fantastic if I do say so myself (;

Saturday was so cooool! So many things happened, but my favorite was a rendezvous we had with a new ami named Andrew. We had passed him previously, and he was busy, and we weren't feeling so positive about how our rendezvous was going to go. We showed up, he let us in, we started teaching and he got so excited! He pulled out a notebook and started asking so many questions. He loved the Book of Mormon, and kept marking all the verses I'd work into the lesson. At the end we invited him to be baptized and after we talked about it for a bit, he pulled out his planner and wrote down the date and was like "well, we'd better start meeting regularly then," and we just about died! My favorite part of the lesson was when we were talking about the pre-mortal life and told him that we'd lived with God, who we called Heavenly Father, being the Father of our spirits. He went quiet and then said that his whole life he'd called God "Dad" when he prayed and never knew why, but that he understood why now. It was such a tender moment!

 

Sunday we had another cool miracle. Two of our amis ended up not coming to church, and we were pretty bummed out about it, but then all of the sudden, in walks an ami that we had lost contact with a week earlier! He had walked, taken a bus, then a train, then walked another twenty minutes to come to church! We were so excited, and had a great lesson with him. 

This week was a great reminder that God's in charge! We'd been having a tough time, but it was cool to be reminded that we never know when things will turn up - we just have to stay positive and keep living how we know we should. Anywho, I'm loving my mission, and I'm so grateful for the chance we have to serve!

Merci et bonne semaine!

Elder Suisse

Pics:

The view from one of our member's houses because I love these mountains!

Geneva/Lausanne zone conference, with a giant wooden Book of Mormon

II fait froid!!!

Salut!

So this week was so so cold and exhausting, but we saw so many miracles!! 

It's been between 0 and -10 degrees Celsius all week, so needless to say I got some great use out of all my winter gear. We also had a lot of rendezvous fall through, which was disappointing, but we're hanging in there!

Tuesday we had the coolest rendezvous with a less-active family in our branch. The mom is American, the dad is Swiss and they have a young adult daughter, and none of them have come to church for a while, the dad hasn't for years. Anywho, we went and had an excellent meal, played a game, then shared a thought on the Book of Mormon. Elder Maxwell and I bore really simple testimonies, and the Spirit was so strong! It was honestly one of the best rendezvous I've ever had!

Wednesday and Friday we had exchanges with the Renens and Fribourg Elders, which was awesome as usual, but also exhausting. We had plenty of lessons planned with our wonderful amis and members, and all but one were canceled last minute, so we did get some good contacting in and found some sweet new investigators. I also managed to not get frostbite, for which I'm grateful.

Thursday was district meeting! I felt like I at least could use a message on what success really means as a missionary and on focusing on progress and not on disappointments, and it went super well - I love my district! I found a video of myself bearing my testimony in French from my first week so I shared that, then closed with my testimony now, and it honestly made me tear up to see and feel how much of a change Heavenly Father has made in me during my mission. 

Sunday was a roller-coaster! One of our amis had promised to come to church, so we waited for forty-five minutes for him at the train station, but he didn't show. So we were super disappointed and went back to the chapel. I was feeling pretty down, and Elder Maxwell nudged me and was like "look who just walked in!" I turned around and it was the family we'd seen on Tuesday! They'd come to church, and loved it! Then they invited us over again for this week! It was a huge reminder that God's in charge and that we're here for a reason!

Then today we had just about the coolest pday ever! We decided to just go out and adventure all day, so we climbed up to the medieval castle by our house and took a bunch of pictures. Then drove up into the Alps and just hiked around for a bit. It was so peaceful and calm and snowy and awesome! After that we passed some roman ruins on the way home, which was also cool. Honestly, this place is a dream! I love my secteur and the work! 

Last thought! We started teaching the ten-year old son and also the daughter of one of our less-active families, because they haven't been, but would like to be baptized, and we had the coolest lesson on Sunday! We sat on the floor and taught the plan of salvation, and had them draw out all the steps, then invited them to teach it to their family that week for family home evening. They were shy, but so accepting and trusting, and they learned so quickly! It hit me just how many attributes children share with our Savior. So this week I'm going to strive to incorporate some of those characteristics into my life - patience, virtue, hope. I'm so grateful for this gospel and for our Savior from Whom it stems. It was a tough week but I'm loving life!

Merci!

Elder Suisse

Pics:

Martigny and a bit of the fort we visited today

I couldn't resist

Us having fun with the panorama function on the phone

More mountains!

A random Colosseum we found!

Road trips and geneology!

Bonjour!

What a week!! Lots of miracles and plenty of disappointments, but we're still standing here in good ol' Martigny!

Tuesday and Wednesday - We drove all the way down to Béziers, to work on my legal papers, so I can stay another year in France. It ended up being like twelve hours of driving, but we made it there and back safely! We got to visit with the Klemasz couple and even got to see a couple of my favorite members from when I was there - super fun trip, but wow I'm tired of driving!

Thursday was our exchange in Lausanne. Elder Sorensen and I got to teach a handful of lessons, and every one of them was so cool! Really cool miracle - we taught this one Columbian family who didn't really speak French. We brought a Spanish speaking member, and the majority of the lesson was this family and our member speaking back and forth in rapid Spanish. I learned some Spanish in high school, but I've definitely lost the vast majority (all of it. I've lost all of it.) since then. But I was able to understand 99% of what they said! Even Elder Sorensen, who'd never learned Spanish, was able to follow pretty well. Towards the end of the lesson we looked at each other, and Elder Sorensen invited the couple to be baptized, and they said yes! What a cool experience - the Spirit was so strong! We walked out and the member told us "everything you shared during the lesson fit perfectly with what we were talking about" Anywho, it was way cool and the gift of tongues is real!

Friday we had an awesome rendezvous with a young convert to the church. We met with him to help with his family history, and it was a really cool lesson! He'd never really looked into it before, but he was able to input his grandparents' information and will be able to take their names to the temple in the next couple months! 

Sunday was our branch conference. We'd invited and had been planning on six of our amis attending church that week, and were so excited for them to hear the talks and all of that. Sadly, the night before and morning of, all of them canceled and we ended up with no amis at church. We were pretty disappointed. But then the stake president got up and gave this awesome talk on avoiding discouragement and depression, and it was honestly exactly what we needed. 

All in all a pretty crazy week - it feels like our trip to Béziers was forever ago. I'm loving it here though, and I'm excited to see what this week brings!

One thought from the stake president - he asked us to imagine that it was the Savior up at the pulpit giving the talk. Would we feel even an ounce of discouragement or depression? Of course not! Hopefully we'd feel an urge to improve and serve, but negative feelings like depression are just not how God operates - He instills hope! Elder Holland talked about how Christ's command to be perfect can seem intimidating, but as soon as we understand that God is happy with our best, even if we're flawed, and that He'll be there every step of the way, it becomes a lot less daunting. Anywho, I love God and I love this work, even when it's hard!

Je vous aime! Bonne semaine à tous!

Elder Suisse

Pics:

Lac Lèman from our car window

Us, the Béziers elders and the Klemasz couple at an Indian restaurant

The (very overcast) Mediterranean!

Hard work and good times

Salut!

So this week was super busy and a ton of fun! First off, Martigny is the single most beautiful place on this planet! Mountains and green and snow and vineyards, and it's just straight-up awesome! But yeah, I'll try to remember everything that happened this week!

Monday and Tuesday we took a trip down to Lyon for MLC, which went super well. I realized that I really don't miss the big city, and I'm so grateful for my ville! We talked about family history and ate a ton of heart-shaped french toast for Valentines Day haha

Wednesday the Fribourg Elders came down for an exchange, which went really well! We had a great lesson with our ami, and then ate "brisolet", a Swiss traditional meal, with la famille Donnet-Monnay - literally just chestnuts roasted over an open fire. So good!

Thursday was district meeting, and I think it went super well! We talked about genealogy and how it applies to missionary work, as well as how to be lovingly BOLD this Valentines Day with our amis, in order to help them progress!

Friday was another exchange, with the Renens Elders - highlight: we helped our DMP destroy this summer home in the Alps (he remodels homes for a living and needed help with some heavy lifting), and the view was amazing!

Sunday was really nice - I love love love my branch! We ate with an American couple who own a hiking/adventure business here and it was super cool to learn about everything there is to do here. Also to hear some American English! And they made us buffalo steaks, so that was pretty great too.

Today we mostly just went shopping and ran errands, but on a whim we visited this castle on a mountain that we'd been meaning to check out, which was cold but very cool.

One thing I've really realized this week is that peace is so much more readily available than we realize! I've so appreciated the scenery and people here in Switzerland - nothing better for de-stressing - but nothing settles minds like the assurance we have that everything will be okay. Bad days end, anxiety is only temporary, and God is always there, even on cloudy days. We just have to try our hardest not to forget it!

Merci pour votre amour, je vous aime tous! And Happy Valentines Day!!

Elder Suisse

Lots of pictures this week:

Me trying to look regal at a castle, but actually I'm freezing

District meeting! I can't believe I'm holding a 9 - gotta enjoy the mission while I'm still here!

Sometimes I just get weirded out that my name's everywhere here

Exchange with the Renens Elders 

I can't get enough of these mountains!

Frere Donnet-Monnay making brisolet

Martigny!!!

Salut!

Okay, so this week was totally crazy! I'll try to sum it all up as best I can!

I got transferred to Martigny, in Switzerland. Crazy train ride on Monday, but we made it safely!

Martigny is the most beautiful place ever! Huge mountains, lots of snow, beautiful sunsets, the works! I love love love it here!

My companion is Elder Maxwell. He's in his fourth transfer and he's British, and super cool!

The branch is pretty small here, but the people are literally the greatest! We've eaten at a couple of houses, and they're so supportive and positive about the work! Sunday I was able to meet all of them, and it honestly feels like home!

We've been working with quite a few nonmember families this week! Sadly, most of our rendezvous were cancelled last minute, but I feel very positive about this transfer, and I'm so excited to see more miracles!

In summary, I'm so happy to be here, I love the branch, the ville and my companion. The Alps are incredible (legit, they're right outside our windows, and every morning I'm like "It's so beautiful here," and Elder Maxwell just laughs at me because I say it every day), and I'm feeling great!

Souvenez-vous que nous avons un Père Celeste que nous aime infinement, et que tout est possible à ceux qui croirent! 

Je vous aime tous!

Elder Suisse

Pics:

We visited a member who lived at a ski resort, and it was literally so beautiful!

A very picturesque chapel in Sion, a ville in our secteur

The view from our apartment (it has since snowed)

Switzerlaaaand!!!

Switzerland!!!

Salut tout le monde!

So! Super crazy week! It was week six, and I feel like haven't sat down for at least four days! 

Monday we received Elder Jensen, my replacement here in the office. He ended up being three hours late, due to some crazy train stuff, so Elder Ruben and I spent all day running around til we found him. Then we had pday at President's house and played volleyball (super cold but great) and charades (everyone was yelling French and English and waving like crazy and it was great). 

Wednesday I got my transfer call! I'm going to Martigny, Switzerland! I'm so so so excited! Mountains, swiss chocolate, clean streets, the works! That'll be this week, then my p-days will be back to Mondays!

Thursday was our transfer planning meeting. This transfer sounds like it's going to be super chaotic and I'm not gonna lie, I'm real excited to get back to full time proselyting :)

Friday was straight-up insane! Someone decided our mission needed to switch out nine of our cars all at the same time, so me and every other driver in Lyon spent all morning driving cars between the chapel in Ecully and the dealership in Venissieux. Crazy day but we got it all done!

Today was my last p-day in Lyon, so we decided to finally visit some roman ruins by the Fourviere cathedral, and it was the coolest thing! We ended up taking like a bazillion pictures and just got back a bit ago. 

It was a packed week, and I'm not sure how I feel. I'm sad to be leaving the office, but I'm so so happy to be going back to full-time proselyting, and I'm so psyched to go to Switzerland, you have no idea! I'm so grateful for a Heavenly Father who supports us through the hard times and is the reason we have the good ones. There are so many blessings that fly past us every day, I've been trying hard not to miss them these last couple weeks. Life is hard, but good, and that's exactly how it was planned!

Merci et bonne semaine!

Elder Suisse

Pics:

Us at the ruins!